The influence of anxiety on sexual arousal: Towards a cognitive theory
The influence of anxiety on sexual arousal: Towards a cognitive theory
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DOI：
10.1016/j.sexol.2007.09.001
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发表时间：
2008-04-01
期刊：
影响因子：
1.2
通讯作者：
Barbier, V.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kempeneers, P.;Barbier, V.
长期以来，焦虑被认为是性功能障碍的主要病因。自从沃尔普、马斯特斯、约翰逊和卡普兰以来，人们对压力对性反应的影响的理解有了很大的发展。本文追溯了这种演变的里程碑。二十年来，交互抑制理论已经被一种更准确地描述焦虑和兴奋之间复杂关系的理论所取代。体积描记术和认知心理学的结合发展极大地有助于澄清这种关系。实际上，焦虑和性唤起之间的关系似乎比最初认识的更为复杂，体积描记法直接测量性刺激出现时的生殖器血管充血，从而可以客观评估不同情况下的性唤起（色情、焦虑产生、中性或分心）。在这一范式的研究中，焦虑似乎对性唤起有非线性的影响：有时它是抑制性的，有时它是促进性的。将体积描记法的结果与认知科学的最新发展结合起来，我们想到了以下假设：性恐惧可以被认为是对认知干扰的脆弱性因素。在性的情况下，性恐惧的主体主要关注与危险相关的信息。这可能会在工作记忆中产生大量非色情线索（非相关任务信息）。因此，可用于性唤起的认知功能会减少，性活动会受损。这一假说揭示了焦虑对功能障碍受试者性唤起的抑制作用。当这种认知干扰不存在时，焦虑反而会加强性唤起：要么是通过增加对性暗示的注意力，要么是通过将压力情境引起的生理反应误解为性起源。(C)2007年由Elsevier Masson SAS出版。
For ages, anxiety has been pointed out as the main etiological factor for sexual dysfunction. Since Wolpe, Masters, Johnson and Kaplan, the understanding of the influence of stress on sexual reactions has greatly evolved. This article retraces the milestones of such an evolution. In two decades, the reciprocal inhibitory theory has been replaced by a theory describing more accurately the complex relationship between anxiety and excitation. The combined development of plethysmography and cognitive psychology has greatly contributed to clarify this relationship. Indeed, the relationship between anxiety and sexual arousal appears more complex than originally recognized.Plethysmography directly measures genital vasocongestion at presentation of erotic stimuli and thus permits an objective assessment of sexual arousal in varied circumstances (erotic, anxiety producing, neutral or distracting). In studies using this paradigm, anxiety appears to have a non linear influence on sexual arousal: sometimes it is inhibitory, other times it is facilitative.Articulating the results obtained using plethysmography with the latest development in cognitive sciences, the following hypothesis came to mind: erotophobia could be considered of factor of vulnerability towards cognitive interference. In a sexual situation, erotophobic subjects focus primarily upon danger related information. This could engender a massive irruption of non erotic cues (non relevant task information) in working memory. Therefore, cognitive function available for sexual arousal would be diminished and sexual activity would be impaired. This hypothesis brings light onto the inhibitory effect of anxiety on sexual arousal among dysfunctional subjects. When this cognitive interference is not present, anxiety rather reinforces sexual arousal: either by increasing the focus of attention towards sexual cues or by misinterpreting the physiological reactions induced by the stressful situation as being sexual in origin. (C) 2007 Publie par Elsevier Masson SAS.